Jersey leaders

Yellow (overall):
Thomas Voeckler (Fra)

Green (points):
Phillipe Gilbert (Bel)

Polkadot (mountains):
Johnny Hoogerland (Ned)

White (young rider):
Robert Gesink (Ned)

"I think there was some oil on the road and I just came slap down. Then the next one was horrific, coming down a high-speed descent. Me and Thor just made it by and they all went down behind us," he said.

"It's one of the scariest crashes I've seen - carnage.

"The sport is so fast, there are so many of us on the road going for the same thing and there are more risks."

Voeckler, who spent 10 days in the yellow jersey in 2004, rose from 19th overall to the head of the general classification, 1min 49 sec ahead of Sanchez, with Australian Cadel Evans the best of the favourites, 2min 26 sec back.

Voeckler was part of a breakaway for three-and-a-half hours

"I know it's impossible for me to keep it 10 days like 2004 but one thing I know is that I'll keep it tomorrow because it's a rest day," he joked.

Philippe Gilbert won the sprint for fourth, further securing his hold on the green jersey with 217 points, 64 ahead of third-placed Mark Cavendish.

Contador, who was held up in a crash in the first stage and hit the deck in the fifth stage, fell off his bike after his handlebars got tangled with Russian Vladimir Karpets's saddle.

He now lies 16th in the standings, 4min 6sec behind Voeckler, and is hoping Monday's rest day will help him recover.

"I fell on the same knee that I hurt when I crashed the previous times," he said.

"I'm actually quite worried because I have pain in that knee. I'm going to need to recover from that, I'm not feeling great."

BBC links

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